alpha-Tocopherol

Too much Vitamin E is rare. It can be caused by taking too many vitamins.

If not treated, excess vitamin E can lead to serious health problems, including an increased risk of stroke.

Symptoms of vitamin E excess include:

- Diarrhea

- Nausea

- Fatigue

- Deficiency may occur with malabsorption, cholestyramine, colestipol, isoniazid, orlistat, olestra and certain anti-convulsants (e.g., phenobarbital, phenytoin).

- In general, lipid peroxidation markers are elevated during vitamin E depletion and their levels can be normalized upon vitamin E repletion. However, these markers are not necessarily specific to vitamin E, since changes in intake of other antioxidants can also change the levels of these markers.

- Food sources include oils (olive, soy, corn, canola, safflower, sunflower), nuts, seeds, spinach, carrots, avocado, dark leafy greens and wheat germ.

Symptoms of a vitamin E deficiency include:

- Muscle weakness

- Slow reflexes

- Difficulty or unsteady walking

- Vision problems

Vitamin E deficiency is very rare in healthy people. Most of the time, vitamin E deficiency is caused by a condition where nutrients are not properly digested or absorbed. These include Crohn’s disease, liver disease, cystic fibrosis, and some rare genetic disorders. Vitamin E deficiency may also be caused by a very low-fat diet.

Naturally occurring vitamin E exists in eight chemical forms (alpha-, beta-, gamma-, and delta-tocopherol and alpha-, beta-, gamma-, and delta-tocotrienol) that have varying levels of biological activity.

Alpha- (or α-) tocopherol is the only form that is recognized to meet human requirements. Alpha-tocopherol (body’s main form of vitamin E) functions as an antioxidant, regulates cell signaling, influences immune function and inhibits coagulation.